During a commercial flight, cabin crew members perform many functions, including ensuring that passengers are safe and comply with safety rules. In order to perform these duties, crew members make periodic inspections of the cabin. For example, crew members may verify that seatbelts have been fastened, tray tables are stowed, seat backs are in their upright positions, etc. Crew members may also periodically monitor the cabin to determine whether passengers are complying with flight safety rules.
Awareness of the state of the cabin typically relies on periodical visual inspections conducted by the cabin crew members. For example, during turbulence, a cabin crew may inspect the entire cabin visually in order to identify a small subset of passengers that may not be following the safety instructions given to them. These inspections can put the cabin crew at risk and cause injuries to them and also to passengers. In some cases, sensors may be placed in each of the seatbelt laches and pressure sensors may be used to determine whether a passenger is standing or sitting. However, these sensors may increase aircraft weight and ultimately the cost of flight operations. Further, these solutions generate additional wiring which may add to the weight of an aircraft and could cause unanticipated electromagnetic effects.